Getting the best deal for Scotland

As all within the fishing industry will know only too well, we are once again approaching the annual fishing negotiations that will determine the fishing restrictions that skippers will face in the coming year. The SNP is in no doubt that the common fisheries policy under which this is decided has utterly failed to either conserve fish stocks or protect the economic livelihoods of those in the fishing industry. Clearly it must be replaced with a system that returns responsibility for managing fishing grounds to regional control, so that fisheries are managed by those who know and have a stake in those waters.

However, reforming the way business is done in Europe is never a quick process and we must deal with the short term situation first. It has been a difficult year for the industry as the recession and European restrictions have combined to damaging effect and it seems likely that next year will also be tough.

Yet despite this Scotland’s fishing fleet has once again been at the forefront of implementing new conservation measures, something that deserves to be recognised in the negotiations that will take place. Just recently, the Scottish Government announced funding for the trial of new fishing gear in the whitefish and prawn fleets that will help skippers be more selective about what they catch. This will let fishermen land more of what ends up in their nets rather than being forced to discard healthy fish. If it proves successful during its trials, vessels that adopt the gear will be able to buy back more days at sea under the conservation credit scheme.

Over half of Scottish fisheries by value have been accredited as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, with more set to follow suit. This is an important selling point as people become more conscious about where their food comes from, but also reflects the efforts Scottish fishermen have gone to build a sustainable, profitable industry.

The Scottish fleet has time after time been leading the way across Europe when it comes to finding innovative ways to fish sustainably and I know my colleague Richard Lochhead will push hard to see them rewarded with the best deal possible for Scotland in coming negotiations. Whatever the outcome of negotiations, the Scottish Government and the fishing industry is developing an action plan to set out a shared vision of the industry’s future and to help Scotland’s fishing communities deal with circumstances that are beyond their control.

The SNP Government knows just how important fishing is to Scotland’s economy and to the coastal communities that rely upon it. While other parties may have shamefully described the industry as “expendable” in the past, everyone in Scotland’s fishing communities know that that is something the SNP will never do.

One of agricultural journalism’s leading lights

I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dan Buglass, one of Scotland’s leading agricultural journalists recently who wrote for a variety of press titles during his career. Agricultural journalists play a vital role in providing the kind of specialised news which farmers, and those in linked businesses, need and Dan was one of the field’s most respected journalists throughout his thirty year career.

Dan will be sorely missed be everyone who used to enjoy his insightful articles and my thoughts are with the family and friends he leaves behind during this difficult time.